Tough Little Boys
by Jameson Rook
Summary: When you're a spy, you don't ever think about having a family. You don't consider meeting someone that you can get married to, and you don't imagine bringing a child into the wonderful world of espionage. It's not an environment that you should force on anyone that isn't aware of what they were getting into. That's not to say that fate doesn't get in the way of that.


_**Disclaimer: Burn Notice and all of its characters belong to Matt Nix and the USA Network. The first lyrics are from "Tough Little Boys" by Gary Allan, and the second lyrics from "Stealing Cinderella" by Chuck Wicks. **_

_** So...I wrote this in twenty minutes...it may be total crap. Let me know what you think?**_

"**Well, I'm a grown man, but as strong as I am, sometimes it's hard to believe**

**How one little girl with little blonde curls could totally terrify me. **

**If you were to ask, my wife would just laugh, she'd say 'I know all about men**

**How tough little boys grow up to be dads, they turn into big babies again.**

**Well, I know one day I'll give you away, but I'm gonna stand there and smile,**

**But when I get home, and I'm all alone, I'll sit in your room for a while."**

_When you're a spy, you don't ever think about having a family. You don't consider meeting someone that you can get married to, and you don't imagine bringing a child into the wonderful world of espionage. It's not an environment that you should force on anyone that isn't aware of what they were getting into. That's not to say that fate doesn't get in the way of that. _

_ Fiona is a perfect example of that. In your training, they teach you what to do when your op goes south, or you target gets antsy, and, techinically, they teach you what to do if you accidently fall in love with an asset. However, their idea of 'cleaning house' when you fall in love involves a few more bullets that you hadn't budgeted for in you pre-op planning, and a body bag that you weren't counting on. _

_ The other problem with unexpected complications such as that, is that it creates a domino effect. One thing leads to another, and, before you know it, you're standing in front of a mirror in a church fidgeting with a bow tie..._

"Michael! You were supposed to be finished getting ready by now!" Fiona scowled, reaching out and adjusting the bow tie on my tuxedo angrily.

"Yeah, I know." I grumbled, running my hands up and down her arms softly. "Something came up, and Sam and I had to step out for a little while." The glare that I got from her was a bit frightening...

"You went on a job without me?" She snapped, her eyes still narrowed. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my throat as I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her to my chest.

"I went out on an op when I was supposed to be getting ready, and you're mad because we didn't invite you?" She nodded slowly, a grin spreading across her face as the words sunk in.

"I suppose it does seem a bit silly, doesn't it?" The door to the room swung open and our gazes strayed to it, my hand hovering over the gun that was tucked into the waistband of my tuxedo pants. We both relaxed when Sam's, surprisingly clean shaven face peeked around the door, clad in his own tuxedo.

"Sorry to interupt, Mikey, but you're being beckoned." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, and I placed a soft kiss to Fi's nose before following him out. He sipped the beer that he had in his hand as we walked down the hall.

"Seriously? Where the hell did you get a beer?" I chuckled, shaking my head at him.

"Your mom has a cooler stuffed under the pew. I think she fixed what's been wrong with going to church all these years." He gave me his trademark Sam Axe grin and lifted the beer in a toast before downing more of it. Clapping me on the back, he gestured to the door where I could hear nervous babbling coming from. "She's all yours, Mike. Well, for now anyway." His laugh died on his lips when I glared at him and he scurried back down the hallway.

Sucking in a deep breath, I ducked through the door and closed it tightly behind me. It nearly broke my heart when I saw how beautiful that she looked in that wedding dress.

"Hey, sweetie." I whispered, mostly because I couldn't muster much more than the whisper around the lump of emotion in my throat.

"Dad!" She squeaked, bolting across the room and wrapping her arms around my neck. I was startled for half a second, but I recovered quickly and wrapped my arms around her tightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, kissing her temple softly.

"I don't know if I can do this, Dad." She whimpered into the crook of my neck. I pulled back and wiped the tears on her face away with my thumbs.

"What are you talking about, Claire?"

"I don't know if I'm going to be any good at being a wife, and I don't want to screw this up." My daughter replied, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. Her dark hair fell over her ivory shoulders in soft curls, and she stared at me, looking for answers through arctic blue eyes.

"You're going to be wonderful at this, Claire." I replied. "You're an extraordinary person, and Kyle loves you so much. Anyone with eyes can see that."

"I know, I just..." She sighed heavily, causing the diamond pendant that I recognized as the one that I had given Fiona on our wedding day, to heave on her chest. I reached out and repositioned the necklace unconciously. "I just look at you and Mom, and I _want _that. I've always wanted something like you two have."

I chuckled under my breath, unable to contain the thought that she had no idea the hell that Fi and I had been through to get to the point we were at now. Between me leaving her in Ireland, her showing up after I'd been issued my burn notice, clawing my way through finding out who burned me, and the arguement that had started when I'd been reinstated, and finally there had been the day that I got out of the CIA for good. It was a long process of healing, but eventually we'd gotten to the point where we were happy.

"You will, baby, I promise." I smiled gently at her. She smiled back at me before stepping into my open arms.

"Thanks, Dad. You always know what to say."

"You're mother would beg to differ." I chuckled, pulling away and tucking a curl of hair behind her ear. "Now, there's a church full of people waiting, and if we don't hurry up, Sam and your grandmother are going to be doing karaoke and scaring them all away. We laughed loudly together, and then walked out into the church, hovering outside the sanctuary, her arm tucked in mine. I must have hesitated for a bit longer than necessary, because the next thing I knew, her hand was touching my cheek softly.

"You ready?" She whispered, looking so much like Fi that it made my heart clench. I couldn't seem to find the words to answer, so I simply nodded. We pushed open the doors and the entire congregation turned to face us. As a spy, you generally try to avoid having a room full of eyes on you, so I had to push the bubble of panic in the back of my throat down as we walked up the aisle. I wasn't prepared for the onslaught of memories that hit me like a freight train.

The panic in Fiona's voice when she'd come to me, her hands quivering with the pregnancy test held out to me cautiously. The tears that we had both cried that night, wondering what the _hell_ two people like us were going to do with a child. The first time I held Claire in my arms, her tiny little fingers clutching at my thumb like it was the only thing keeping that little angel grounded to Earth. The first time she climbed onto my feet and we waltzed around the living room in the house that we had finally bought, because settling down was necessary when you had a family. Kissing the scrapes and cuts on her knees when she was learning to ride a bike. Her first day of school. Her first boyfriend, and, in turn, her first heartbreak. Her senior prom. All of it.

By the time we reached the alter, where Kyle was standing, my thoat was tight with unshed tears. I swallowed thickly and leaned down to kiss Claire's cheek softly. Kyle smiled at her tenderly before extending his hand for me to shake. I grasped his hand and shook it, leaning in to give him a half hug and whispering in until my mouth was directly next to his ear.

"If you hurt her, I _will_ kill you. And no one will ever find your body." He was chuckling when I pulled away, but the dead seriously look on my face had him swallowing the laugh. I kissed Claire's hand once more before taking my place next to Fiona in the pews. Her hand settled on my back, rubbing it gently as we all took our seats and the priest began the ceremony.

"You okay?" Fi whispered, kissing my temple.

"I will be. I'm just...and he's...and they're..." I muttered, shaking my head. She smiled and tugged gently on my ear, a signal that I was getting too caught up which we'd figured out years before.

"I understand, you know. She's my baby girl too, in case you forgot." She teased. I smirked and nodded, dropping my chin to my chest. "But, I also know that she has always been 'Daddy's girl'. She's you're little princess, and she's growing up."

"He's stealing my Cinderella." I whispered, watching as my daughter leaned in to kiss her...husband. We all stood and clapped loudly.

"Ladies and gentleman, I'm happy to present, for the first time, Mister and Misses Kyle Longfellow!"

There was a stream of tears on my cheeks as I watched them walk out, elation written on both of their faces as they ducked through a shower of bird seed. Fiona leaned forward and nudged my shoulder, causing me to wipe the tears away quickly.

"You know what they say about tough little boys." I heard Sam chuckling to my mother. "Biggest babies of them all."

**"In her eyes I'm Prince Charming, but to him I'm just some fella**

**Riding in and stealing Cinderella.**

**He slapped me on the shoulder, and he called her in the room,**

**When she threw her arms around him, that's when I could see it too.**

**She was playing Cinderella, she was riding her first bike,**

**Bouncing on the bed, and looking for a pillow fight,**

**Running through the sprinklers with a big popscicle grin,**

**Dancing with her dad, looking up at him. **

**If he gives me a hard time, I can't blame the fella,**

**I'm the one who's stealing Cinderella."**


End file.
